Many Americans believe that money is the key to happiness. Money alleviates future and unexpected burdens, provides security, and affords people access to experiences that enhance happiness. Money can’t directly buy happiness, but happiness is a lot easier to find when your worries aren’t your priorities, especially when they are financial. Poverty is fundamentally built on stress, limitations, and misery; on the other hand, if you’re wealthy, you have a choice to be happy.
Financial resources can solve problems quickly, whether that means ordering takeout, paying for transportation, or using money to avoid legal consequences such as posting bail. This helps them mitigate negative consequences rather than being subject to them.
In a study by the NIH, researchers found that, “Once incomes cross $100,000/y, as people make more money, the level of peak happiness grows even faster.”
Higher-income individuals tend to be associated with greater happiness; conversely, lower income is often linked to greater unhappiness. Crossing the 100,000 threshold, hardships no longer relate to income, and instead, the wealthy become protected against this despair. Additionally, crossing the threshold also causes peak happiness to grow at a faster rate. For most people, money is associated with joy and is even more beneficial beyond an annual income of $100,000.
“I think people can still be happy without much money. It’s just harder for them to survive,” said CHS senior Sean Taylor.
Although studies have shown that money does influence happiness, it is arguable that one can still be happy without much money; however, hardships can make life more vigorous. Money secures necessities; without it, stress increases, making it harder to feel satisfied, even when you have positive things in your life.
“I think in some ways money can make people happy because it can buy them things they enjoy and take them places they want to go, but it can also bring a lot of bad things,” said CHS freshman Becca Covert.
Covert discusses how money can have both positive and negative effects on happiness. She notes that money can create joy by providing access to enjoyable experiences and opportunities such as travel. However, she also recognizes that wealth can lead to “a lot of bad things,” such as greed or a loss of genuine connection.
Money is deeply rooted in society, which makes it easier for the wealthy to buy their way out of stressful situations. Yet, without much money, you can still find happiness within your life through personal relationships, accomplishments, and acts of kindness. Happiness is not just limited to materialistic ideas but can be achieved through many actions we perform every day without realizing it.
